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Sumitomo Magnet Wire to Close U.S. Plant; 100+ Jobs Lost

By wmadministrator

Sumitomo Electric Wintec America (SEWA) has announced that it will close its plant in Edmonton, where it produces magnet wire.

The shutdown will result in the loss of more than 100 jobs.

SEWA Chair Yukihide Ito said the company, which is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., Japan, deeply regretted the decision but that the rising cost of manufacturing its products in the United States have become too high for the company to remain competitive. The Edmonton facility is Wintec’s only U.S. plant.

Company spokeswoman Dana Simmons told the Glasgow Daily Times that the Edmonton operations will be moved to Asia. In addition to Sumitomo Electric’s headquarters and two plants in Japan, the company also has facilities in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Manufacturing operations in Edmonton are scheduled to end by June 2009.